Annexes to Scientific report on 'Frequency of consumption of different fish, crustacean and mollusc species contributing to methylmercury exposure and consumer awareness of national advice on their consumption'

Two EFSA surveys were conducted in 2023 and 2024 to assess fish and seafood consumption patterns and consumer awareness of national advice (including related health risks and benefits) for a selected set of fish and other seafood species. The first survey (FPS) was implemented across the EU27, Iceland and Norway in May-July 2023, while the second survey (SPS) was conducted in a subset of 15 countries, 10 of which had updated their national advice in the intervening period, in November-December 2024. The survey targeted the population aged 10–64 years, with adolescents and pregnant women intentionally oversampled (boost samples) to secure adequate subgroup sample sizes for analysis. Data were collected via computer assisted telephone interviews using a combined Food Propensity and Awareness Questionnaire. The dataset includes information on consumption frequency for 38 fish, mollusc and crustacean species, grouped by their maximum mercury levels (1.0, 0.5 and 0.3 mg/kg); awareness of chemical contaminants (including mercury); knowledge of national dietary advice and the related health risks and benefits; and self-reported changes in consumption behaviour following such advice. Additional variables include sociodemographic characteristics, respondents’ sources of information, and country level context reported changes in consumption behaviour following such advice. These data were used in an EFSA scientific report [https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2026.9865] which analysed differences in consumption patterns, levels of awareness, and behavioural responses to national advice across the two surveys (2023 and 2024). Annex B to the scientific report Annex B is an excel file which present the data model used to collect the fish and other seafood consumption and awareness data. The data model consists of four tables: the subjects table the consumption table the foods table the awareness table Additionally, the reference files defining the coding schemes used for selected variables in the data model (Catalogues_used) are available. Annex C to the scientific report The raw fish consumption and other seafood and awareness data consists of four csv files: Subjects.csv - text file containing subject-level variables from the two surveys Consumption.csv – text file containing food consumption variables from the two surveys Foods.csv - text file containing food-level variables describing reported food items from the two surveys Awareness.csv – Text file containing awareness variables related to fish and seafood from the two surveys The distinction between the two waves is possible through the variable ‘wave_number’ in the subjects file. In addition, two sets of weights are provided: (a) the post-stratification weights to align the survey sample with the reference population based on socio-demographic characteristics and (b) the population-size weights to reflect the relative size of each country within the total geographical area covered. The population-size weights are intended to scale the post-stratification weights (CON_FISH_WEIGHTS.xlsx). Annex D to the scientific report Annex D presents a set of national factsheets (PDF files) for all countries corresponding to either FPS or FPS and SPS (in case the country participated in both survey waves). These factsheets can serve as a visual summary of key findings on fish and seafood consumption patterns as well as people’s awareness of risks and benefits. Results refer to: (a) consumption frequency of selected fish species and other seafood, (b) the sources of information that led to change in consumption, (c) national dietary advice available (d) decrease in the consumption of fish and other seafood, and (e) awareness of contaminants present in fish and seafood. The factsheets are descriptive outputs intended to present selected findings at country level. Faded-colour bars display results from the overall dataset to facilitate comparisons between national findings and the aggregate results. As base sizes for individual subgroups are generally low, results should be interpreted with caution.